Hay-carrier.



No. 731,558. i l PATENTED JUNE 23, 19,03.

. H. L. PERRIS.

HAY CARRIER. APPLICATION FILED PEB. 11. I1903.

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f A C23 l No. I231,558. PATENTED JUNE `23, 1903.

H. L. FERRIS.

HAY CARRIER.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 11. 1903. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

nlm" l "mlm" "mum" ummm im i d UNITED STATES Patented annees, 190e.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY L. FERRIS, OF HARVARD, ILLINOIS,

.ASSIGNORl TO l HUN T,"'IIELM,

HAY-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 731,558, dated June 23, 1903.

Application filed I'ebruary 11,1903. Serial No; 142.929. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern: i

Be it knownthat IHENRr L. FERRIS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Harvard, in the county of McHenry and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay-Car.- riers, ofwhich the following is aspecification.

My inventionjrelates to certain new and usefulimprovements vin hay-carriers; and its object is to producea device of Jrhis class which shall be simple, cheap, and elicient and which shall have certain other advantages which will appear in the course of this description.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features of constructionwhich are clearly described in Vthis specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the aforesaid drawings', Figure lis a side elevation of my improved carrier. Fig. 2 is a similar v iew showing the outer casing out away in the line 2 2 of Fig. '3, certain parts being in a' different position. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of my improved carrier. Fig. 4. is a section in the line 44 of Fig. l looking in the direction of thearrow, and Fig. 5 is a section in the line 5 50i Fig. l looking downward. Referring to the drawings, A is a suitable track, upon whichrunj pulleys B, which are journaled upon the upper part c3 of the hanger-frame. This part of the frame C, as clearly indicated in Figs. Sand 4;,Aconsists of a singlepiece ofmetal cast with a hemisphe-` `roidalportion c and outwardly projecting arms c', `to which. are immediateiyzconnected the pulleys. A lhi'shemispheroidal portion o .is provided withan outwardly-,turned bead c2."

The lower-part of the main frame of the device is composed of two substantially simi-` lar portions D, each of which consists primarily of a hollow segment of a sphere d' and a substantially flatportioncast integral therewith, el'. The two segmental portions d form together substantially a hollow hemisphere provided witha longitudinal slot. The upper edge of the hemisphere is provided with an outwardly-turned fiat portion d2, an upwardly-turned rim d3, and an inwardly-turned lip (Z4, which overhangs the outwardly-turned bead c2, heretofore described. The parts are `endg, which is adapted A rope K. Opposite the end j on the frame is assembled before the two members D D are secured together, which is later elected by means of rivets d5 passing through them.

It will be observed that the lower portion of the main frame is rotatable upon the upperportion, the bearing being between the outwardlyturned bead c2 of the upper portion andthe adjacent parts of the lower portion. A spring-pressed catch E is provided in one of the portions D and engages with `the upper portion of the frame to lock the two parts normally together in the position shown in the drawings, wherein the normal line of the track A lies substantially' in the plane of Vthe Hat portions D.

Between the two portions D of the frame is journaled a pulley F. A second pulley G runs upon a pin g, which pin also connects two arms H,pivoted to the frame, to links I. The links I in turn are pivotally connected to a jaw J, which extends almost across the entire'frame and is pivoted at the opposite end thereof. It will be noted, therefore, that the pulley G can oscillate in a vertical plane, any weight which may be thrown upon the pulley tending to draw down the jaw J. Over the pulleys F and G runs a rope K, attached at one end to a hay-sling pulley-block L, running thence over the pulley F, thence under the two hay-sling pulleys, and thence over the pulley G and to any suitable source of motive power. The hay-sling pulley-blocks are adapted to carry the sling in the usual manner. .The opposite-end of thejaw J to its pivot is provided with acurved and pointed to press upon `the pivoted a block M, adapted to cooperate with the pointed'end]l of the jaw to clamp the rope K. This block M is provided with a` tooth m and a depression fm', into which the end of the jaw presses the rope.` It is alsoprovided with an antifriction-roller m2.

The jaw J is provided between its ends with upwardly-projecting arms jg, which extend into the hollow'of the spheroidalportion of the frame heretofore described, said arms being provided at their upper ends with laterally-extending pins js, which are adapted to engage with an inclined cam ct, secured to the track A. It is obvious that when the hay- IOO ' forms a part of the cam-plate a.

carrier comes to the position on the track shown in Fig. l the pinsj3 ride up upon the cam a., raise the jaw, and permit the rope to run freely over the pulleys. When the haycarrier, on the other hand, is in any other position, the jaw itself (when unrestrained by the latching devices, which will hereinafter be described) will fall by its own weight and the weight upon it, so as to come in contact with the rope, and any weight which maybe supported by the hay-sling pulleys will be transmitted through the pulley Gr and links I to the jaw, so as to bring a considerable force to bear upon the rope.

A catch N, spring-pressed by a spring n, is provided between the halves of the lower part of the frame, which catch is adapted to engage with the shoulder jl of the jaw J to hold it normally in its raised position. To the catch N is secured a contact-piece N', which when pressed upward will swing the catch upon its pivot, so as to release the jaw. This contact-piece N is so positioned as to be struck by the pulley-blocks when they rise to their highest point. To the catch is also attachcd a cord N2, which runs over a pulley d, journaled in one of the two halves of the lower part of the frame. This cord is intended for use when for any reason it is desired to release the jaw before the pulley-blocks reach the top of their normal movement. Rigidly attached to the catch N is a trigger O, ruiming outside of the frame and parallel thereto. Any means can be adopted to secure these two parts rigidly together, the device illustrated in the drawings consisting in a squared shaft on the catch, fitting in acorresponding hole in the trigger. To the end of the trigger O is connected a contact-piece o, which surrounds that end of the rope K which is attached to the pulley-blocks, and to the said rope is attached a movable button 7a, which is adapted to come into contact with the contact-piece o to raise the trigger and swing the catch so as to release the jaw.

The operation of the device will now be described. Starting in the position shown in Fig. l, wherein the jaw is raised by engagement ofthe pins ji with the cam a or the track, the desired load is attached to the pulley-blocks in the usual manner. The free end of the rope K is then puiled so as to raise the hay-sling pulleys and the load carried thereby, the rope running freely over the pulleys4 and the antifriction-rollell m2, and the jaw being held up by engagement with the latch N. When the hay-sling pulleys reach their highest point, the blocks strike the contact-piece N and release the catch. The hay-carrier has meanwhile been held stationary on the track by engagement of the projecting pinsj3 with a small lug d', which This lugis so positioned that it strikes the pins] 3 when they are held in their raised position. When the catchis released by engagement of the pulley-blocks Lwith the contact-piece N', the

jaw falls by its own weight and the force exerted upon it by theload on the pulley-blocks L and the pins fall out of the path of the lug a. This clamps the rope between the pointed end of the jaw and the block M, and the force exerted upon the rope then pulls the hay-carrier bodily along the track. When the proper position is reached for dumping the hay, the same is dropped in the ordinary way. The carrier as a whole is then returned to its original position without moving the parts by a suitable returning mechanism,(not shown,) and when it reaches this position the jaw is raised by engagement of the pins js with the cam a, the latch swings into its original position by force of the springn, and the parts are in position to take another load. When it is desired to raise a particular load onlypart way up or to stop it, the cord N2 is pulled so as to release the catch N, when the rope is clamped and the carrier moved 0E as before. When it is desired to raise all the loads in succession only part way and it is desired to dispense with pulling the rope N2 with each load, the button 7c is moved up to engage with the contact-piece o on the trigger O at the desired height. It will be seen that when the button is so set on the rope K as to engage with the contact-piece o the catch will be released as soon as the button reaches the contact-piece, thus releasing the catch, clamping the rope, and causing movement of the carrier as before.

The particular advantages of this construction over the structures heretofore in use consist, first, in the fact that the clamping-jaw itself rests upon the cam on the track instead of the jaw being raised by'some intermediate mechanism. In a device of this class which must be put on the market for a very low price it is necessary that all the parts be so constructed that they can be cast and assembled withont any great amount of finishing. It is necessary, therefore, that as few coacting parts be provided as possible, and every part which is removed constitutes a great improvement. For this reason the fact that the jaw itself is caught by the cam makes this device preferable to others. A second advantage lies in the'fact that the latch N acts directly upon the jaw instead of upon some intermediate mechanism. The construction is eX- tremely simple and can be made of cast-iron without finishing, and is therefore much cheaper and desirable than structures wherein a number of coacting parts are provided to latch the jaw in its raised position. A third advantage lies in the fact that when the pulley Gr swings downward and brings the jaw into contact with the rope it swings not only down, but toward the same vertical line as the tooth of the block M. A bend is therefore made in the rope over the point of the jaw, which affords a very firm hold thereon. inasmuch as it is necessary to have the rope straight during the raisin-g of the hay-sling, it

is particularly advantageous to have the pul- IOO IIO

ley swing in this direction, so as to bend the rope at the only time when such a bend would not be disadvantageous.

While I have described this particular elnbodiment of my invention in detail, I realize that there are considerable variations in the details of construction which can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not intend tolimit myself to the' particular form except as set forth in the claims.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- 1ers Patent- .1. In a device of the class described, theV combination with a frame and pulleys journaled thereon adapted to run upon a suitable track, of a rope-clamping jaw pivoted on said frame and having a portion adapted to engage a suitable cam to raise the jaw from its clamped position and a spring-pressed catch pivoted to the frame and adapted to secure said jaw in said raised position, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a suitable track, a frame provided with pulleys adapted to run thereon, a suitable cam on the track, and a rope running over said pulleys and adapted to receive and support suitable hay-sling pulleys,

of a jaw adapted to clamp the rope, means for disengaging the jaw from the rope, and a latch pivoted on the frame and engaging directly with the jaw to'lock it in the position where it is disengaged from the rope.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a suitable track, a frame provided with pulleys adapted to run thereon, a suitable cam on the track, and a rope running over said pulleys and adapted to receive and support suitable haysling pulleys, of a block secured to the frame, a jaw pivoted on the frame and adapted to'coact with the block to clamp said rope, one of the pulleys on the frame being secured to the jaw, whereby the weight of the hay-sling is transmitted to the jaw to aid it in clamping the rope, said pulley being so arranged that when said jaw moves downward, said pulley swings toward the vertical line of said block to bend the rope over the block.

4L. In a device of the class described, the combination with a suitable track, a frame provided with pulleys adapted to run thereon, a suitable cam on the track, and a rope running over said pulleys and adapted to receive and support suitable hay-sling pulleys, of a block secured to the frame, a jaw pivoted to the frame and adapted to coact with said block to clamp the rope, and links pivoted together, one pivoted to the jaw between its clamping ends and its pivot, and the other pivoted to the frame near said block, one of the pulleys on said frame over which said rope runs being journaled on the pivot between said two links, whereby when said jaw is moved downward, said pulley swings toward the vertical line of said block to bend the rope over said block.

In witness whereof I have signed the above application for Letters Patent at Harvard, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, this 7th day of February, A. D. 1903.

HENRY L. FERRIS.

Witnesses: BLAKE B. BELL, J. F. GATES. 

